Enormous Gains

The assembled Battle Saints hadn't yet recovered from that breathtaking glimpse when another thunderous boom rang out.

The Shadow Divine Kingdom was torn apart once more.

This time, they could see the flesh sphere that had terrified them moments ago — now reduced to fragments.

Pale scythes swept through the debris, and then lightning engulfed what remained.

The Shadow Divine Kingdom closed over the scene again, but every Battle Saint exchanged glances, shock and elation warring across their faces.

"It looks like that Divine Grade Aberration Feral Beast has been killed?"

"That eerie aura has almost completely vanished. It really has been destroyed."

"Thank the heavens."

Relief washed over them, and smiles broke out across every face.

Before long, the Shadow Divine Kingdom dissipated, revealing Lu Yuan within.

The flesh sphere that had loomed so terrifyingly was now gone without a trace.

Every last knot of tension in the group unraveled.

Tianming Sage and the others flew toward Lu Yuan.

Tianming Sage smiled warmly. "Ah Yuan, I never imagined you'd grown this powerful. You actually killed a Divine Grade Aberration Feral Beast of that magnitude."

Lu Yuan had already spotted Tianming Sage. He returned the smile. "Old Master Tianming, it's been a while. The main reason I could kill it was that the divine lightning was suppressing it, keeping it from fighting at full strength. Otherwise, I'd have needed considerably more effort."

"Ha ha ha! And yet it would only have cost you 'more effort.' Clearly your strength far surpasses that creature's." Tianming Sage's eyes glinted with amusement. "Does Yeye know how strong you've become?"

Lu Yuan nodded. "She does."

Hearing this, Tianming Sage gave a small nod and smiled.

*So he tells her these things. That means Yeye holds a real place in this young man's heart.*

The thought set the old Sage further at ease.

The other Battle Saints who had been about to speak noticed Lu Yuan and Tianming Sage chatting like old friends. They froze, then turned to stare at Tianming Sage with bewildered expressions, question marks practically floating above their heads.

*What the hell?*

They'd been preparing to make conversation with this powerhouse, hoping to forge even the slightest connection — and here was Tianming Sage, already on intimate terms with the man?

Tianming Sage caught their stares and sneered inwardly. *And you all called me weak earlier. Hmph.*

Lu Yuan, oblivious to the undercurrents, smiled and spoke up. "Old Master Tianming, let me repair the Spatial Rifts first."

Tianming Sage nodded, beaming. "Go ahead. We should head to other zones to help out as well. The Corruption across this prairie is quite severe — it'll need thorough cleansing."

He paused, a thought occurring to him. "Oh — is Yeye alright?"

"Don't worry," Lu Yuan said. "She's perfectly safe."

Satisfied by Lu Yuan's assurance, Tianming Sage nodded and let the matter rest.

The other Saints also came forward to exchange greetings with Lu Yuan. Dengba in particular had crossed paths with him in the Dark Night Forest, so the two chatted a bit longer — much as Silas had done previously.

Soon, the group departed, and Lu Yuan set about repairing the Spatial Rifts.

His mood was excellent.

The rewards from killing that Divine Grade Aberration creature were staggering.

First was the massive influx of Unknown Aura, which had pushed the Evolution Cube past its final threshold and triggered another metamorphosis.

This time, while the evolution ceiling for abilities on the Gene Chain remained at Divine Grade, the ceiling for evolving external items had also risen to Divine Grade.

This meant Lu Yuan could upgrade all his cultivation resources to Divine Grade. As long as he had sufficient materials, he could once again cultivate at tremendous speed.

However, what troubled him was that both the Gene Chain and external item ceilings were now capped at Divine Grade, with no way to push higher.

He couldn't tell whether this was because the Evolution Cube's metamorphosis hadn't progressed far enough, or because some essential condition was missing.

It was even possible that Divine Grade was the absolute limit — that evolution beyond it simply couldn't exist.

But that possibility seemed remote. Although Lu Yuan now possessed Divine Grade Transcendent Genes, he could still sense room for growth within his genetic potential.

*There has to be some missing prerequisite. That's why I can't break past the Divine Grade ceiling.*

As for what that prerequisite might be, he had no clear answer.

*Maybe the next metamorphosis will push past this limit.*

But then another thought surfaced — the peculiar regions he had sensed when connecting to the White Cloud City stele.

*Perhaps the conditions for surpassing this limit are tied to those regions?*

He still remembered vividly that the Mist Forest was where he had died and been expelled from the Land of Origin for the first and only time. The Mirage Dragon within had left an impression he would carry for the rest of his life.

*Maybe I should find a chance to go back and explore.*

With Divine Grade power now at his disposal, even facing the Mirage Dragon shouldn't pose too great a problem. Even if he couldn't win, he should at least be able to retreat safely.

Or he could wait until his next breakthrough to Battle Saint level, inscribe the time-type Transcendent Gene, and then make the attempt.

Beyond the Evolution Cube's metamorphosis, his other enormous gain was Merits.

Killing the Divine Grade Aberration creature alone had earned him a full ten million — far more than any other Aberration kill.

Even repairing Spatial Rifts didn't yield that much.

Clearly, in the eyes of the Land of Origin's will, a Divine Grade Aberration Feral Beast represented an extreme level of danger. No wonder the will had personally intervened to suppress the flesh sphere.

Had Lu Yuan not been present, even if the will could eventually suppress the creature, completely destroying it would have taken considerable time, and the resulting damage would have been severe.

With those ten million added, his total Merits now stood at fifty-eight million three hundred thousand.

That was enough to break through to Battle Saint, and possibly even reach War God level.

Of course, that figure accounted for the cost of purchasing Time Stasis.

Heavenly Calamity Star.

As the last two Spatial Rifts dissolved into spatial storms and vanished, a deathly silence fell over the upper echelons of the Heavenly Calamity Cult.

The Grand Archbishop's face was thunderously dark. The two Bishops beside him wore deep frowns.

Spirit Power surged around all three, their auras violent and unstable.

Xue Han and the other Apostles kept their heads bowed, not daring to utter a word.

The silence stretched on until the Grand Archbishop spoke, his voice cold as ice.

"That Calamity Tentacle was powerful enough to create a Divine Grade Aberration Feral Beast. Even under suppression from the Land of Origin's will, there's no way it could have been destroyed this quickly. There must be an extraordinarily powerful warrior in there."

The Serpent Demon Bishop narrowed his eyes, his forked tongue flicking outward. "That would have to be someone at War God level," he said slowly.

The Ancient Barbarian Bishop's brow furrowed deeply. "All eight Human Race War Gods are stationed at the borders. When did another War God appear within human territory? Who is it?"

At that moment, green luminescence pulsed across the Calamity Altar and coalesced into a shimmering projection.

The images flickered in and out — dark, shadowed space; the glimmer of starlight; roaring thunder; and the terrifying flash of bronze-colored radiance.

Among the fragmented scenes was a handsome young human man.

The Grand Archbishop's eyes narrowed at the image. "This is a revelation from the Calamity. So this War God is the one responsible? A human?"

"A War God this powerful among the humans..." The Ancient Barbarian Bishop drew a sharp breath. "He seems to wield several different types of power. Has he inscribed multiple Transcendent Genes of at least Saint Grade? His potential must be extraordinary!"

The other Apostles studied the projection with keen interest. Only Xue Han stared wide-eyed, disbelief written across her face.

The War God-level powerhouse in this projection looked exactly like the Battle Saint she had sent Du Bei to investigate.

No — it wasn't just his appearance. Even the powers were eerily similar. That Dark Domain, that terrifying death energy and spatial power... But what was that strange bronze radiance?

*Wasn't this human a Battle Saint? When he fought the Gaston Demon Dog, he was nowhere near this powerful. How could he have become this terrifying in such a short time?*

She finally understood why Du Bei had gone silent.

Sending someone to investigate a War God — that was a suicide mission.

Ice shot down her spine, and she spoke up immediately. "Grand Archbishop, my Lord! Bishops, my Lords! I know who this person is!"

The Grand Archbishop, both Bishops, and every Apostle in the room turned to stare at her, confusion plain on their faces.

The Grand Archbishop had been on the verge of mobilizing massive resources to track down this human War God — and Xue Han already knew who he was?

His expression hardened. "Who?"

Xue Han took a deep breath. "Previously, a Cult follower was sent to corrupt a star domain in the White Cloud Star Domain. He hatched a Gaston Demon Dog there, but a mysterious powerhouse killed it the moment it was born. The dying creature transmitted an image back — and the figure it captured was this same War God."

The Grand Archbishop and both Bishops tensed visibly.

The Grand Archbishop's aura surged as he fixed Xue Han with an intense stare. The crushing pressure drove her to her knees, trembling.

"You discovered a War God-level powerhouse and failed to report it?"

Cold sweat beaded on Xue Han's forehead. "Please calm your anger, Grand Archbishop! That's not what happened! In the image transmitted at the time, the figure's strength was only at Battle Saint level. He was somewhat stronger than the Gaston Demon Dog, but only marginally — nothing like what we see here! I dispatched Du Bei to investigate, but contact was lost. This War God must have been concealing his true power, or used some method to mislead our intelligence!"

The Grand Archbishop's frown deepened as he studied her panicked expression. "You're telling me this human was only a Battle Saint back then, and has become a War God in this short a time?"

The Ancient Barbarian Bishop's gaze turned sharp. "Absolutely impossible. Even given thousands of years, a Battle Saint would struggle to reach this level of power."

The Serpent Demon Bishop glanced at Xue Han. "Xue Han would not lie. In that case, this War God was hiding his strength from the very beginning."

The Grand Archbishop frowned. "Why would he conceal his power? Was he deliberately trying to mislead us?"

"That's difficult to fathom," both Bishops murmured, shaking their heads.

After a moment's deliberation, the Grand Archbishop set aside further speculation and turned to Xue Han. "Report this human's location and all known intelligence immediately. Make tracking him the Cult's highest priority going forward."

"Yes, my Lord!" Xue Han bowed her head.

Upper Layer, Land of Origin.

With every Spatial Rift now repaired, Lu Yuan finally had room to breathe.

The first few rifts he'd reached in time had been fully contained — the Aberration Corruption hadn't managed to spread beyond them. But the remaining ones had all leaked varying degrees of Corruption, contaminating vast stretches of the Wilderness Zone.

Aberration Feral Beasts had multiplied sharply across those areas, including no small number at Sovereign Grade and even Saint Grade.

Had Lu Yuan not repaired the rifts as quickly as he did, the Corruption throughout the Upper Layer would have spiraled into catastrophe. The worse the Corruption grew, the weaker the Land of Origin's will became, destabilizing the entire layer. In the worst-case scenario, every Feral Beast in the Upper Layer would undergo Aberration, and the layer itself would be lost entirely.

As things stood, the outcome was the best they could have hoped for. The contaminated zones still needed purging, but plenty of Battle Saints were available for the task.

After all, clearing those zones meant earning substantial Merits — incentive enough for any Saint.

With more than enough hands on the job, Lu Yuan saw no reason to get involved. His own Merits were more than sufficient.

He went to collect Li Qinghe's group first.

Under the Shadow Divine Messenger's protection, they had been safely hunting Aberration Feral Beasts and had accumulated considerable Merits of their own. Everyone was all smiles.

Once they returned together to Sky-Mending City, the whole group headed to the Merit Hall to redeem treasures.

Yeye and the others wanted to advance their cultivation as quickly as possible, so Lu Yuan recommended they exchange their Merits for cultivation resources.

These would be more than sufficient for rapid, significant breakthroughs in the near term.

As for other treasures, with Lu Yuan's evolution abilities being what they were, they needn't worry.

For his own part, Lu Yuan spent twenty million Merits to redeem the Time Stasis Transcendent Gene before anyone else could claim it.

With the remaining balance, he purchased a batch of Emperor Spirit Liquid — a cultivation resource at the Battle Emperor tier, a step above even Jade Sovereign Flowers.

Each drop cost one thousand Merits and contained energy equivalent to a hundred thousand Seventh-tier Spirit Crystals.

Lu Yuan redeemed one thousand drops, spending one million Merits.

Even after that, he still had over thirty-seven million remaining.

He planned to save those for later — he had no immediate use for them now.

Purchases complete, Lu Yuan left with Li Qinghe and the others. They each headed to the Training Hall to begin cultivating.